1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a banknote or paper money processor which is installed in the interior of such a service machine as an automatic vending machine or a money exchanging machine to discriminate between authentic and false banknotes inserted into the processor and to sequentially accumulate the banknotes judged as authentic ones.
2. Description of the Related Art
Some of such service machines including automatic vending machines and money exchanging machines are installed with such a banknote processor which can discriminate between authentic and false banknotes inserted into the processor and can sequentially accumulate the banknotes regarded as authentic ones.
FIG. 9 shows, in conceptional cross-sectional view, such a conventional banknote or paper money processor 1 as mentioned above, depicting a state after the processor is mounted in an automatic vending machine.
The banknote processor 1 includes a processor body 2 which is formed into a generally L shape as viewed from side. Provided at a lower left tip end of the processor body 2 is a banknote insertion port 3 which in turn is directly mounted to a door 8 constituting a front face of such a machine as an automatic vending machine so that part of a tip end of the banknote insertion port 3 is externally exposed.
With such a banknote processor 1, when a banknote (not shown) is inserted into the banknote insertion port 3, a sensor for detection of the banknote disposed within the banknote insertion port 3 detects the insertion of the banknote and generates a detection signal. The detection of the inserted banknote causes a first conveying belt 4 for conveying the banknote in a horizontal direction to rotate forwardly (clockwise) on the basis of the detection signal, while the detection causes a second conveying belt 5 to rotate reversely (counterclockwise), whereby the inserted banknote is conveyed to the processor body 2. More specifically, in the banknote processor 1, a driving motor (not shown) is disposed at the side of the second conveying belt 5 so that the first conveying belt 4 is driven as followed by the second conveying belt 5 through such power transmission means as gears.
In this way, when the forward driving of the first conveying belt 4 causes the inserted banknote to be horizontally conveyed in the right direction of the drawing, a sensor for detection between authentic and false banknotes disposed nearly at an intermediate position of the first conveying belt 4 judges whether the inserted banknote is authentic or false.
When the banknote authentic/false detection sensor judges that the inserted banknote is false, the first conveying belt 4 is reversely (counterclockwise) rotated so that the inserted banknote is returned to the banknote insertion port 3.
When the banknote authentic/false detection sensor judges that the inserted banknote is authentic, on the other hand, the detection signal of the sensor causes the first conveying belt 4 to forwardly rotate while causes the second conveying belt 5 to reversely rotate continuously, whereby the banknote judged as authentic one is conveyed upwardly of the processor body 2 by the second conveying belt 5 and thereafter sequentially stacked and accumulated in a stocker 6.
Incidentally, in such a conventional banknote processor 1 as mentioned above, when such water as rain water or such viscous fluid as detergent is made to flow into the banknote insertion port 3 as shown by an arrow A, the fluid flows into the vicinity of a bottom plate 7 which forms a bottom of the processor body 2 as shown by arrows, further leaks from the lower part of the processor body 2 into the interior of such a machine as an automatic vending machine having the banknote processor 1 installed thereto.
And once such viscous fluid as detergent flows into the interior of such an automatic vending machine, the fluid adheres to various parts disposed within the machine such as driving parts, printed circuit boards or electronic devices, which disadvantageously results not only in that the parts attached with the fluid becomes faulty and the function of the machine having the banknote processor 1 installed thereto is deteriorated but also in that the operation of the machine is locked and thus the function of the machine itself having the banknote processor 1 installed thereto is stopped.
Meanwhile, in order to solve the above problem, there has been suggested a banknote processor in which a bottom member of a banknote insertion port is formed to be curved and the curved bottom member is provided therein with a fluid discharging means comprising a plurality of slit openings, so that fluid introduced into the banknote insertion port is discharged from the bottom of the insertion port through the fluid discharging means, thereby preventing invasion of the fluid into the interior of a machine having the banknote processor installed thereto, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,156,250. This prior art, however, has a difficulty that, since the fluid discharging means is provided only to the banknote insertion port, once fluid invades into the interior of the banknote processor, it is impossible to discharge the fluid out of the machine.
The prior art (U.S. Pat. No. 5,156,250) also has another difficulty that since the bottom of the banknote insertion port is curved, it is difficult for users to insert banknote into the banknote insertion port.